"Later...."

Clarissa went on a school trip today, leaving at 7 in the morning and getting home at 6. This gave me plenty of time to recouperate after yesterday's ordeal.

When I woke up it was so foggy outside I couldn't see past the end of the garden. It surrounded the hill their house is built on and it literally felt like we were the only ones here in the world, cut off from everything. Even the next door neighbours house was cloaked in a grey blanket and hidden from view.



Not such a marvelous view today...

I learnt three things today. One was the Italian (today I covered adjectives, possessive determiners, questions and negation) which I studied in the kitchen - although it could have been the Sistine chapel, there was so much soulful music floating through from Giorgio's study.

The second was that it rains in Italy. Cold wet English rain. All day.



Yes, it really does rain in Italy.

And three, potentially the most important of all, was one of Clarissa's favourite words. Later.

You see, 'Later' doesn't actually mean later.
"Shall we carry on playing Lego?"
"No, later."

"Shall we clear this off the table?"
"We do it later."

To Clari, 'Later' means never. Not now, not tomorrow, not later. Later means: I don't want to do it.

However, I've wised up to this new form of 'Later'.

"Clari, shall we tidy up these cards?"
"No, later."
"No, shall we do it now?"
"No, we do it later."
"No Clari, not later. We do it now."